For the first time in its history, students are living in the Nittany Lion Inn.

The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came after Penn State announced it would use single-occupancy rooms in Eastview Terrace buildings to isolate and quarantine students affected by the coronavirus this fall. Previously, the university planned to use the Nittany Lion Inn for that purpose.

Displaced Eastview residents were offered the choice to move into a room at a different housing area or book a long-term stay at the historic Nittany Lion Inn. Naturally, I selected the latter.

Similar to traditional commons desks, Nittany Lion Inn residents can pick up packages and mail from the hotel’s front desk 24 hours a day.

The Nittany Lion Inn is also being used for classroom space, which means there’s traffic from residents, professors, and students. The hotel’s large ballrooms allow instructors to set up sprawling classrooms that still maintain social distancing at all times.

Since there are no laundry services in the Inn, all residents are enrolled in the Tide University Laundry program for no additional fee. The plan provides washing, drying, and folding for up to 20 pounds of laundry per student per week.

Each single-occupancy room comes with its own bathroom, closet, and storage spaces, including many drawers for all your things.

Residents’ rooms have either double, queen, or king-size beds. What they do with that extra bed is up to them!

Oh, and did we mention each room comes with a cable TV, too? Residents are also set up with a microfridge, desk, and comfy chair.

Living in the Inn definitely feels different than living in any other dorm room. For starters, the thicker hotel curtains and comfy beds make it very tough for me to get up in the morning.

Despite trying my best to make my room feel as homey as possible, it still feels like I’m living in a hotel, in part due to not being able to rearrange furniture during my stay. Additionally, I’m not allowed to put anything on the walls that can’t be hung with blue painters tape.

Located in the top left corner of campus, the Inn is also out-of-the-way of pretty much everything. Luckily, my two in-person classes are both located on the north side of campus.

Nittany Lion Inn rooms are also significantly cheaper than their Eastview Terrace counterparts. Each Nittany Lion Inn resident will pay approximately $800 fewer dollars to live in the hotel than Eastview Terrace (not to mention all the extra amenities!).

All things considered, I enjoy living in the Inn. I haven’t felt unsafe since moving in, especially since the staff is extremely helpful and nice. I also recognize that it’s truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to live in this historic hotel.